We are pleased to invite you to attend the 2019 Lincoln North Star Gator Invitational. The competition will be held on Saturday, February 9, 2019, and we hope you will consider joining us!

ONLINE ENTRY:

Entries will only be accepted online via www.speechwire.com. Deadline for entries is Wednesday, February 6th, 2019 at 6:00PM. Fees will be assessed when registration closes. Additional entries will be allowed only if space permits.

FEES/JUDGES:

Entries will cost $8 each (individual or group). You will need to provide one judge for every six entries or pay $15 for each uncovered entry.

EVENTS:

The following events will be offered: Informative*, Original Oratory*, Extemporaneous*, Entertainment, Humorous Interpretation*, Dramatic Interpretation*, Poetry, Program of Oral Interpretation, Duet/Duo*, and Oral Interpretation of Drama. Students may triple enter. A Top Novice award will be given in all individual events, as well. Events with an * are NIETOC events.

SCORING:

Several tournaments this year have been experimenting with tiebreakers that don't use rating points. Because of the subjective nature of rating points and the mistakes that can occur with them on ballots, several tournaments have been implementing tiebreakers that are based on rank, rather than rating points. This has significantly reduced the number of ties and ultimately rewards students who rank higher. We will be using this method, as well. Our tiebreaker from prelims to finals will be as follows:

1. Total ranks in this round/s2. Prelim opponents' average rank (this preferences those in more difficult sections)3. Head-to-head in prelims (2-way ties only)4. Reciprocals in this round/s (here a 1-2-3 combination would advance over a 2-2-2)

CONCESSIONS:

We will offer breakfast, lunch, and snack items throughout the day at the concession stand.

CONTACT INFO:

You may reach me via cell phone at 402.432.4540, or via e-mail: lgardner@lps.org. Please contact me with any questions or concerns.